For The Love of The Quibbler
by Shadow Unnoticed
Summary: She had just heard someone say ‘Blibbering Humdinger.’ And that someone was not her.
1. Gossip in the Corridor

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters to be mentioned. I have no affiliation with J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers or any other person or persons concerning the Harry Potter texts.

This came to me in a dream just last night. It was an odd dream, but a lovely one at that. The whole fanfiction will be based upon this dream. I'm not promising more than 10 chapters, although I doubt it will even have **that** many. Enjoy!

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She didn't mind that she sometimes hummed out of tune. Quite frankly, she never really noticed. All she cared was that she was humming to what she thought was the tune of 'Weasley is Our King.' You couldn't call it her favourite song, as she didn't have a favourite song. But she particularly enjoyed singing and humming this one. She didn't sing the mean version the Slytherins had made up either, but the Gryffindor one. She supposed that was why Ronald didn't mind as much now.

Luna Lovegood often meandered the corridors between classes. It was her third most favourite activity, next to reading in the library and working in the Greenhouses. And even though she mostly sang or hummed, she still listened to the sounds and voices surrounding her.

"Did Parvati tell you about...?"

Luna dismissed the voice. She had no interest in gossip. She was so unobtrusive, that she heard the stories others told about her own self. She never spied, never listened in on people's conversations, and never sought out such information. But, somehow, Luna seemed to be everywhere at once, and picked up nearly everything.

"Megan Jones said that she heard from Eloise Midgen that someone caught Susan Bones and Zacharias Smith snogging in the broom closet."

More gossip. Luna sighed dreamily, walking closer to the wall. She curtseyed to a few various portraits who acknowledged her. Gossip was all she heard these days, whatever the subject was. And it wasn't entirely a surprise, considering the latest _Daily Prophet_ articles, which seemed to hold more speculation than facts these past couple of days. Luna felt her grip tighten on the copy of _The Quibbler_, firmly held in her left hand. Her father would never let such rubbish articles be published in his magazine. Adam Lovegood always wrote the truth. Though he tried to be dispassionate, his natural fever for the subjects often won the upper hand. Nevertheless, his articles were always 100 percent accurate, and never misleading. Much unlike the _Daily Prophet_.

"You know, Terry Boot got himself in the Hospital Wing. He was hit by a Bludger during today's Ravenclaw Quidditch practice."

Protuberant eyes widened slightly. She took note of what she heard, deciding it was imperative that she visit him as soon as possible to make sure he was okay. He was, after all, a friend, and civil towards her. Except for the occasionally 'Loony,' which she always assumed was purely incidental and meaningless.

She passed by a group of third year Gryffindor girls, huddled around a copy of the latest _Daily Prophet_. Luna felt like sneezing.

"Oooh, look what is says about the Department of Mysteries! They're running investigations and there are analysts..."

This was something new. Luna didn't doubt that after what had happened in May, there would be many new stories, and theories, and warnings. In fact, she would have been genuinely surprised had there been no news at all. The whole student body was in a combination of shock, fear, and indecisiveness.

Luna thought about the incident. Truthfully, it occupied her daydreams rather often. Sometimes she would feel the impact of her body being thrown against the desk. Sometimes she would remember trying to talk sense into Ronald after those horrid Aquivirius Maggots attacked him (even though Hermione said they were 'brains'.) Sometimes she would hear the voices behind the veil again, and what she thought was the soft chuckling of her mother.

She snapped out of her reverie suddenly, as she had almost walked into an older Slytherin. Adrian Pucey, as luck would have it. The Head Boy snarled at her and pushed past her. Regaining her composure, she continued on her way. It occurred to her that she was heading in the general direction of the Great Hall. And rightfully so, as there was just a little bit of spare time before lunch would be served.

Luna froze mid step. She could barely believe her own ears. Among all the chattering, one voice stood out above the rest. It wasn't any louder than the rest, but it immediately seized the blonde Ravenclaw's attention. At first she thought she had misheard, but that was quite unlikely. Luna had especially keen hearing, she was well aware of that.

She had just heard someone say 'Blibbering Humdinger.' And that someone was not her.

"It was a wicked article about the Blibbering Humdinger. I swear, I just read it, right in Binns' class. He didn't notice I wasn't paying any attention, obviously. He never does. But anyway, it was all about the latest discovery, that they were living in..."

Luna did not need to hear the rest. She, too, had read that article this morning, right before breakfast. In that short burst of time after Harry's interview was published, it was common to hear people discuss and quote the magazine. Some even kept at it for a week or two. But as far as her knowledge went, Luna didn't have a clue someone was still at it.

She turned her head to see who had spoken, but could not identify the voice among the crowds of students milling about. She wasn't too disappointed, though, and was confident that she would find whoever it was by the end of the day. Even if it took the whole day to find out just who else showed such enthusiasm about her beloved Daddy's magazine.

**A/N:** So, how did you like it? Has it intrigued you? Will you keep reading? Please review! :D

The mystery person won't be revealed right away, so you'll have to be patient. If any of you would like to take a shot at it, though... I can give you one hint and one hint only, and that is that he's a male. –zips lips shut for fear of giving away any more information-


	2. Rehearsed Apology

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters to be mentioned. I have no affiliation with J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers or any other person or persons concerning the Harry Potter texts.

As she entered the Great Hall, Luna couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly in awe. _'Professor Flitwick must have stayed up very late last night for this,'_ she thought, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Never before had Hogwarts seen such dazzling Halloween decorations. There was black and orange velvet carpeting between the House tables, nearly transparent streamers suspended in the air beneath the enchanted ceiling, and hundreds of dimly glowing candles lining the walls, conjuring a breathtakingly eerie atmosphere. There was so much more to look at, Luna had a hard time taking it all in, much less picking something to focus on. It was apparent that many other students felt the same way, as the entrance to the Great Hall was nearly packed with gaping people.

"Hurry up and get in, all of ye! Blocking the whole bloody way, that's what yer doin'!" a gruff voice demanded. Luna turned to see Filch a couple of paces away. The caretaker was shooing everybody in, and Luna felt others trying to push past her. Mrs. Norris meowed in the background. Walking in silently, she chose a vacant spot at the Ravenclaw table as a sandwich appeared on a plate at the table. Luna wrinkled her nose; something was missing. Almost immediately, a goblet of pumpkin juice materialized beside the food. Satisfied, she picked up the sandwich and took a small bite out of it. Her copy of _The Quibbler_ lay on the table beside. In between bites, she would read a few lines, then resume her eating.

Someone sharply poked her shoulder, and Luna looked up from her meal, unfazed. "Why are you sitting here all by yourself?" Ginny Weasley inquired, tilting her head to the side and looking down at Luna expectantly.

"Because nobody is sitting with me, so I'm sitting alone," Luna replied logically. Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Don't be silly, Luna. Now take your plate and come join us at the Gryffindor table," Ginny said resolutely, tugging the Ravenclaw by her elbow.

Obediently, Luna gathered her things and followed the redhead with a single protest of, "I wasn't being silly, you know."

"What's _she_ doing here?!" Ron vented as Luna nestled in between him and Neville Longbottom.

"Ron!"

"Eating," Luna clarified, just as Hermione yelled indignantly. The two looked at each other and fell silent.

"Well, since Luna was all by herself, I thought it would be nice to invite her to come sit with us," Ginny said through clenched teeth. "Is that all right with all of you?" she added, challenging everyone. Harry, Hermione, and Neville nodded. Ron, on the other hand, glared at Ginny. But with a single scornful look from his sister, he lowered his gaze and nodded curtly. "Glad that that's settled then," Ginny concluded, and took her place by the table on Ron's other side, facing Harry.

"Has anyone read about the latest discovery concerning the Blibbering Humdingers?" Luna began, her upper body leaning slightly over the table. Her tone was quiet, almost as if she was telling a secret. Ron shot an 'I told you so' look at Ginny, who pretended not to see him.

"I haven't Luna, but maybe you could tell us about it sometime," Harry broke the short, uncomfortable silence that followed Luna's question.

"That would be lovely," the blonde said, staring vaguely at a point just above Harry's shoulder. More silence followed. This time, it was Hermione who tried to ease the situation.

"Ginny, Luna, have you started preparing for your O.W.L.s yet?" A typical Hermione-like inquiry. Ginny shook her head, but Luna smiled and nodded in the affirmative.

"I could use some help, though," Ginny began hesitantly, looking wide-eyed and innocent at Hermione. The older girl sighed and gave a small laugh.

"Sure, sure. Keep in mind, I'm agreeing to _help_ you, not do the work _for_ you," Hermione warned sternly. Ginny grinned. "You'll never learn anything if you don't give a whack at it, even if you're not sure of the answers. And I won't give you hints, either." Harry smiled knowingly at Ron. They both heard the same spiel before, but always managed to coax some answers out of Hermione. Luna began humming 'Weasley is Our King,' her gaze directed towards Ron.

"Will you quit it?" Ron barked, clearly not minding to cover up the agitation in his tone. Luna blinked at him.

"Quit what?"

"Quit singing that stupid song."

"But it's not a stupid song. It's a song about you, Ronald," Luna explained, smiling sweetly. Ron snorted.

"Taking the mickey, are you?"

"I have no intentions of doing so."

"Well it sure looks like you do."

"_Looks may be deceiving,_" Luna said in a singsong voice.

"Stop." This last comment came from Ginny. "Both of you. Before you start a scene."

"You're not Mum," Ron seethed.

"Should I owl her?" Ginny retorted. She knew what to use against her older brother. Especially since he didn't have a good history with Howlers. Luna simply blinked once more and turned to stare at the ceiling. She did not resume her humming.

The rest of their lunch was spent in silence, with occasional hard glances between Ron and Ginny. Luna was the first to leave, _The Quibbler_ in hand. '_What a most interesting lunch,_' she thought, climbing up the staircase to the Ravenclaw Tower. It was a Friday, and she had the rest of the afternoon free. The perfect opportunity to do some meditation.

She barely noticed when the owl landed on her bed. Her eyes were closed, and she was sitting on her bed cross-legged. The ruffling of feathers alerted her of the creature's presence. "Why hello, Pigwidgeon!" she greeting cheerfully, removing the rolled up parchment tied to its leg. She pet Pig softly on the head, then proceeded to unroll the letter.

"_Luna,_

_Harry said that Ron said that he wants to tell you he's sorry. Meet me outside the Gryffindor common room in half an hour. _

_Don't let any Prefects or professors see this. I'm not entirely sure if you're allowed in._

_Ginny,_" Luna read aloud. She reread the entire thing twice. "Wonder what he wants to say he's sorry for," she said to herself. Nevertheless, she placed the note under her pillow and watched Pig hop off her bed and fly back to the Owlery through the open window.

It was exactly two minutes before the time Ginny had arranged to meet Luna. The redhead paced outside the portrait hole, awaiting her friend's arrival. At a minute to, Luna came into view, descending a nearby staircase. Ginny stopped pacing and walked forward to meet Luna halfway. "Cover your ears. The Fat Lady won't like you hearing the password," Ginny instructed. Luna nodded and clamped her hands over her ears, shutting her eyes as well. "_Squealing Mandrake_." As soon as the portrait swung open, Ginny grabbed Luna by the elbow and pulled her inside. Luna didn't mind that it was the second time in one day Ginny had done that.

Red and gold flashed before Luna's eyes. The common room was quite occupied, so Luna walked behind Ginny, trying to conceal herself as best as possible. "He's downstairs in the dormitory," Ginny whispered, "so you'll have to go down and see him. He's cooled off quite a bit since before." Luna nodded wordlessly and walked with Ginny to the stairs. Ginny motioned Luna forward, but didn't follow after her.

Luna knocked on the door once, with one quick rap using her knuckles. It was Harry who opened the door. His expression was serious, and he smiled to Luna before moving to let her in. Once she walked past him, he exited the dormitory, closing the door after him.

Ron was sitting on his bed, leaning forward on his elbows. He looked up when he heard her footsteps. He stood up, straightening his tie formally. "I.. er..." Luna didn't interrupt, but allowed him time to find his words. "I just wanted to say I didn't mean to blow up at you at lunch today. I was out of line, you didn't do anything wrong... much, and I'm really sorry." His lines sounded nearly rehearsed, and Luna had a creeping suspicion that Hermione and Ginny had put him up to this. "Oh, and here," he added, thrusting a box of Chocolate Frogs at her. "I heard these were your favourite," he said, eyeing the candy slightly regretfully. Hermione and Ginny had made him do that, too.

"Thank you, Ronald. That's very sweet of you," Luna chirped, relieving him of the box and stepping forward to hug him. "But there's really no need to be sorry. You haven't done anything." Ron pulled away and narrowed his eyes. He was undoubtedly thinking that something was way off about Luna. He had, in fact, injured her feelings, and she acted as if nothing had happened.

"Er... yeah, anyway..." he mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Good bye, Ronald!" Luna excused herself. She waved quickly to him, then opened the door and left the dormitory. Ron followed after her. They walked up the staircase, one behind the other. As Luna reached the top, she saw Harry, Hermione, and Ginny lined up to greet them. She smiled as she walked past them.

"Good job, mate," Harry said with a smirk.

"Hope you learned your lesson," Hermione added.

"You had better have made it believable," Ginny warned. Ron coughed. His friends sure were hard on him.

Luna began humming again. A different tune this time, much livelier and merrier now. Thankfully, nobody in the common room had noticed her arrival and departure. That didn't mean Luna didn't take notice of her surroundings, however. Just before she stepped through the portrait hole, she caught a glimpse of a large piece of paper in the air. Someone was sitting by the fire, their back towards her. And in their hands was a copy of _The Quibbler_.

**A/N: **Second chapter is up! XD Keep those reviews coming in, and guesses, too. Whoever guesses correctly gets a huge, chewy, chocolate chip cookie!!!! Mystery person still has not been revealed. o.O But start putting the clues together. –does the hokey pokey-


	3. A Hint of Sympathy

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters to be mentioned. I have no affiliation with J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers or any other person or persons concerning the Harry Potter texts.

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The very next day, Hermione called upon Ginny and Luna to meet her in the library. The two fifth years met her after all of their afternoon classes were over. Hermione was already there, with a table readily reserved. A massive pile of textbooks towered on top of the desk.

"Hello, you two," she greeting them warmly, gesturing for them to join her.

"'Lo Hermione," Ginny answered, taking a seat. Luna pulled up a chair as well.

"I suppose you've already figured out why you're here," Hermione began. Ginny and Luna nodded. "Good. Now, I've brought down all of my old textbooks from last year. We'll go through a bit of each today, okay?" Ginny chuckled at this, and Luna nodded once more. "Do you have a preference as to which to start from?"

"How about Charms?" Ginny offered, opting to go with something quite simple.

"Fine," Hermione agreed, pulling out a book from the stack. "What did you last learn in Charms?"

"The Shrinking Charm," Luna answered.

"Good. Now repeat after me, one at a time. _Reducio_," Hermione instructed, twirling her wand in the air in an arch.

"_Reducio_," Ginny repeated, mimicking the wand movement. The quill that was sitting on the desk in front of her shrank to about three-quarters of its size.

"_Reducio_," Luna echoed, and her own quill shrank to an equal size.

"Brilliant!" Hermione approved. "But quills are simple. Try shrinking..."

"Your huge brain?" an icy voice interrupted. The speaker had been waiting for an appropriate moment to step in.

"Sod off, Malfoy," Ginny rose from her seat, scowling at the older Slytherin. Draco scoffed.

"I don't believe I was addressing you, Weaselette," he dismissed her. "How interesting. The bushy-haired encyclopedia _educating_ the baby weasel and St. Mungo's reject," he said, an expression of sarcastic amusement on his face.

"And isn't she doing a fine job?" Luna piped. Obviously, she couldn't detect the sarcasm in Draco's tone. He looked at her as if she had two heads.

"Wouldn't the St. Mungo's reject know," he retorted, thinking quick on his feet for a good comeback of sorts.

"St. Mungo's? Oh, I've been there!" she exclaimed in recognition.

"What?" he barked, caught off guard. She hesitated.

"... Oh. That's right, I oughtn't have expected you to know," she said slowly. "Well, you see, when I was," she counted on her fingers, "10, I thought I could fly, and climbed up on my roof. I jumped off. And thinks hadn't gone as well as planned, and I ended up in St. Mungo's," she recounted for him. He looked bewildered, and blinked at her twice.

"Y-you... Freak," he said in a low, cold voice.

"I said SOD OFF, MALFOY!" Ginny took a step forward.

"Or you'll what?" he challenged.

"She knows a pretty mean Bat-Bogey Hex," Luna warned seriously, her eyes widening. It was then that Draco noticed something he hadn't before. A piece of... it _looked_ like paper... was sticking out from the pocket in Luna's robes. Without a second's thought, he reached for it, and grabbed it before anyone could protest. It was a picture. He stared- from the picture, to Luna, to the picture, to Luna, and back again, until a thought registered in his mind.

'_Aah, this must be her equally freaky mother,_' he thought, and pocketed the photograph.

"Oh, you can't have that, I'm afraid," Luna started. "It's mine, you see." Draco rolled his eyes at her. Obviously, the Sorting Hat was dead wrong in placing her in Ravenclaw. The freak was as thick as a brick.

"Oh, it's yours, is it? Well, now it's mine, I'm afraid," he said in an equally concerned (but nevertheless fake) tone.

"Give it back to her," Hermione ordered.

"Oh, _I'm afraid_, that's simply _impossible_ now," he said with a smug grin, imitating Luna's voice.

"Please," Luna said calmly, reaching out her hand. Draco, who was a good few inches taller than she, only dangled the photo higher in the air.

"So tell me, Loony. Is she as crazy as you are? Does she wear two great orange lumps of vegetables as earrings, as well? Or a string of rubbish around her neck?" he gestured to her butterbeer cork necklace. Luna eye's widened.

"She- no. She was perfectly fine. And this necklace was my mother's," her hand reached up to cover the necklace protectively.

"'Was'?" he questioned, his smirk fading.

"She passed on," Luna clarified. Her voice was barely audible. Draco was nearly at a loss for words. Her eyes began to brim with heavy tears, tears eager to clear her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled.

Now, Draco was quite used to making the victims of his teasing cry. But perhaps it hits hardest when it hits home. He thought briefly on his own father, locked away in Azkaban. He studied the tiny girl in front of him carefully, wondering why on earth he hadn't torn the picture apart yet. Wordlessly, he lowered his hand and deposited the photograph in Luna's shaking hands. He took a step towards her and lowered his head.

"Then you'd better guard this more carefully next time," he hissed. Maybe she was really insane, but for a second, she thought she had heard... sympathy... in his voice.

Clutching the photograph, Luna slung her bag over her shoulder and made for another table. Any would suit her fine, as she could barely see through the tears clouding her eyes. She stopped at the closest table, put her bag down, and took out _The Quibbler_. She dried her eyes off quickly, and opened up to a random page, anxious to get away from everything and just concentrate on the reading material at hand. The person sitting on the opposite side of the table sneezed loudly.

"Bless you," she said.

"Thanks," the person replied. Luna went back to her article and read on in silence.

When it was finally time to leave for her next class, Luna lay her magazine down on the table. Though magically, the cover of it was still in the air, right before her face. In a pair of hands she recognized from before.

"You," she whispered. The magazine was lowered to reveal someone's face.

"Me?"

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**A/N:** Hee hee hee! CLIFFHANGER! Okay okay, so I promise I will reveal who it is next chapter. And the next chapter will probably either be the last or second to last. I did warn you at the beginning that it was based on one of my dreams, and sadly, dreams don't last eternally. :D


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